The Last Reconnection
by PurplePanda12
Summary: Athena and Apollo visit the Space Center again for the last time. Oneshot, post-DD, and for Justicykes day! Not romance, but friendship. Also, I don't own the image, but I couldn't find the owner of the image.


**A/N: Hey all! This is a special for Justicykes Day! Also known as the day Thena threw a police officer at Polly xD**

**This is just going to be an oneshot starring the two dorks~ Set a year after DD. Enjoy!**

**-PurplePanda12**

**P.S This might be a day late! I went ice skating on the actual date and I was so tired that I only wrote a tiny bit. Also, the ending might be rushed. Sorry about that.**

* * *

Apollo's phone was ringing. His ringtone was still Guilty Love by his 'rival' – Klavier Gavin. Trucy had constantly teased him about it and told him to change it but he had to admit, he didn't want to. It was his guilty pleasure listening to Guilty Love.

Picking his phone up, the caller ID read 'Athena'. He pressed 'answer' then held the phone up to his ear.

"Pollo?" she said like it was a question.

"Yeah, Athena?" he asked back, wondering how she picked up that nickname. He ended up coming to the conclusion that she must've picked it up from Mr Eldoon.

"Are you free today?"

"Depends. What is it?"

"This is… hard for me to say. I have a request."

"Alright. What's this said request?"

"Erm… can you go somewhere with me?"

"Thena, why are you being so vague? Where?" _He must've picked up 'Thena' from Junie_, Athena thought_._

"…Can you come with me to the… space center?"

_Oh. That's her request. _Apollo scratched his head as he agreed to come. _Might as well try to… visit that place again. I can't really avoid it forever_, Apollo thought. "If I might ask, why?"

Athena paused, and bit her lip. She wanted to go back to the space center… because she wanted to face her past one last time. This time, knowing the real truth. And… she thought maybe Apollo would want to come, to you know, and face what happened. Perhaps they could comfort each other in this case.

Above all, she wanted to help him with the events that lingered in his mind as well, and leave hers to rest for good.

"Thena? You still there?" his voice came through her phone, sounding worried.

"U-uh yeah. Just took a moment to think. A-anyway, I kind of thought that we could… help each other through our pasts. Leave it to rest for good, you know?" she painfully admitted, hoping she wouldn't be laughed at by her senior co-worker.

"I… see. Okay, I'll go. Where do you want to meet? And what time?"

"How about in 15 mins? And… I'll meet you there. I just need to sort some things out before I go."

"Alright, Thena. See you there."

"Thanks Pollo."

"Always," he sighed and hung up the call. Maybe it was a good time to see the space center again. To connect with our two different yet similar pasts. Grabbing his jacket, he glanced in his closet and saw Clay's jacket sitting there. Feeling the guilt of what he had done over a year ago, he quickly gathered his things and ran out the door.

Athena placed her phone back on to her bed and flew open her drawers. She pushed a few things aside before finding the item she desired. Satisfied that she had everything she needed, Athena Cykes pushed the front door to her apartment open, walked outside, then shut it softly behind her.

Today was the day to leave it all behind. Never forgotten, but never spoken of, after today. One last reconnection.

**(x)**

Athena nervously shifted her feet as she waited for Apollo to arrive. To be honest, it would usually be the other way round – Apollo would be here first, and Athena would be running late. However, Athena practically ran here, just in case he came early. Plus, she needed to kill off some nervous energy. That didn't work, because it had come back while she was standing here. She hoped that he hadn't ditched her – not that that's usually what Apollo does. He seemed uneasy on the phone though, so she wasn't certain.

Checking the time on Widget for what seemed to be the hundredth time, she finally spotted two horns of hair coming her way. She grinned, but not like her normal ones. A nervous grin.

"Hey, Pollo. Thought you wouldn't show," she said, lowering her eyes to her feet.

"Hey Thena. This isn't like you. Come on, I'M APOLLO JUSTICE AND I'M FINE!" he yelled, trying to make her feel better.

"I-I'M ATHENA CYKES AND I'M FINE!" she shouted back, attracting the attention of other visitors to the space center. She felt a tiny bit better. The 'chords of steel' always worked. She smiled.

"Good," Apollo chuckled. "You feeling better now?"

"Yeah… thanks." Athena cheerfully answered, flashing a peace sign.

"No problem. Now, let's go make the last reconnection to our past, and end our nightmares that continue to haunt us for good."

"Right, let's do this!" She nodded in agreement as her right fist punched her left palm.

Together, they entered the building – the building that had cause them to do all this in the first place.

**(x)**

"Miss Athena! Welcome back!"

Athena recognised a familiar orange robot greeting them. She smiled, and replied, "Hey Ponco, nice to see you again too!"

"And who may this be? Welcome to the Cosmos Space Center!" Ponco turned to Apollo.

"I'm Apollo Justice," he stated, giving a small grin.

"Okay. Let me just add you to the face recognition system…" Ponco scanned Apollo's face and entered his information. "Okay! Welcome, Mr Justice!"

"Thanks, Ponco."

"Hey, Ponco? Apollo and I have to do something. It might take a bit. Is that ok?" Athena asked.

"Of course! Should I notify Miss Aura that you've arrived?"

"Um…" Athena felt uneasy. She knew Aura never really liked her, but she had changed after the trial. She confessed it to the three lawyers during _that_ trial's recess. "…sure. Do you think she will let us see the robotics lab, or the psychology lab?"

"I'll ask her. I hope you enjoy yourself, Miss Athena! I'm always here to help!" Ponco raced off in the opposite direction.

"So, what first?" he questioned.

"Maybe we'll walk around, or something. Or we can head to the space museum…" she trailed off.

"C'mon, Tiger. Let's go to the space museum. We're in this together, remember?"

"Yup! Now, race you!" Athena started to sprint to the space museum.

"Thena! Ugh," he grudgingly ran after her before she got herself into trouble.

**(x)**

Apollo drew heavy breaths. It was extremely tiring chasing after her, even if the distance wasn't very far. Plus, Apollo wasn't exactly 'in-shape'. He knew he should've gone to the gym more often.

Athena was silent. She walked over to the HAT-1 Miracle exhibition and focused her attention on her mother's jacket. The jacket was given to the people involved in the launch, in this case, the HAT-1. She felt a hand place on her shoulder, and turned to face Apollo.

"You can do it. I'm here for you," he encouraged.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, remembering that this was just as hard for him as it was for her.

"…I guess I'm doing better than you. I'm fine, promise. I'll let you know if I need help."

Athena nodded, and looked back at the jacket. "This jacket… it gave me nightmares. A figure was always wearing it, but I could never tell who it was. And then it was as if he was trying to stab me," she paused, trying hard to forget the rest of the nightmare for good. "Back then, I didn't remember the mask, and the man. But that jacket… oh god, it haunted me. So much."

He stayed silent for her, so she could continue letting her final thoughts out. She loved how considerate he was, and she mentally reminded herself to thank him later. Athena carried on to the next item on display, which was the HAT-1 Launch group photo. "I remember that day. I was playing with Ponco and she accidentally ran into a wall. I found bandage in the bathroom and wrapped it round and round her. I was such a naïve little girl! But I loved every minute of it. Then she had to go do the group picture and still went with all her bandages! She… was like one of my true friends. Besides Junie, of course."

"And Clay, he's in this photo too, Apollo, if you wanted to see."

He stood next to her and had a good long look at the photo as well. "I remember that day too, but in an entirely different perspective. Clay and I were hanging around the space center, as usual, and then he heard an announcement that all HAT-1 members had to ensemble for the group photo. He trailed after them and Mr Starbuck gave him a spare jacket and let him in the picture. Clay was like another worker at the space center, all those years ago. Wanted to become an astronaut, just like Mr Starbuck. I guess he did fulfil he dream… but didn't finish it."

Athena smiled slightly and took out a piece of paper from her pocket. Opening it up slowly, she showed it to Apollo.

"What's this? A drawing?" he asked. It was carefully drawn picture of Dr Cykes and young Athena. It was only briefly coloured, but it was really well done.

She nodded and began to explain. "It's what I drew on the day my mother got murdered. I actually found it in my drawers the other day. I had no idea how it got there. I also managed to find my old moon necklace and bunny bag. Maybe my relatives sneaked it in with my stuff? I don't remember."

"This is a good picture. Like really good for an 11-year-old."

"I know. I was so proud of it that I desperately wanted to show it to my mother. But I guess she never saw it, did she? I hope she somehow knows how much I love her… and how much she loved me."

Apollo gave her shoulder a tight squeeze and whispered "I'm sure she did. Remember what Prosecutor Blackquill said? She loved you, with all her heart! And she hated to see you in pain, so that's why she made those headphones."

"I know that, too. And hopefully mom knows it too."

"Anything else we should see here?"

"No, I think that's it. We should try going back up to the robotics lab &amp; the psychology lab. I'll show you where I basically grew up. It'll be fun… I think," she suggested, guiding Apollo out of the space museum.

He laughed, and went with her.

**(x)**

The doors to the psychology lab opened and we walked inside.

"Thanks Ponco, again," Athena told her.

"Don't mention it!"

The doors closed and Apollo took in his surroundings. The room was full of lots of machinery and computers. There was also a desk, and a corner where he suspected Athena amused herself in eight and more years ago.

"Well, welcome to the humble psychology lab! I haven't been in here for ages. It hasn't really changed. I guess no one would use it. But that's great for digging into my past!" Athena mentioned.

"Wow… so I'm guessing this is where your mom worked most of the time?" he asked with genuine interest, not saying all those times before he didn't have any interest, because he did.

"Yeah, but she also worked with Aura is the robotics lab. Like when they were creating Ponco &amp; Clonco."

She looked around and her eyes landed on the desk. It must've been Dr Cykes's desk, back when she was alive. Athena moved towards it and flicked her earring, indicating that she was thinking of something. This action is what Apollo had found her 'nervous tick' last year, when they were first investigating. That led to a series of events that he rather not repeat ever again.

She started to rummage through the few things that were on the desk. Dr Cykes was an organised person, and preferred simplicity. Apollo noticed this as he realised that there was practically nothing on her desk. If only all the desks at the Wright Anything Agency could be this less cluttered. Soon, Athena picked up one photo and tears started to form in her eyes. He quickly found out that the photo was of… Athena, and her mom. And they were happy.

"Tiger… are you okay?" he nervously questioned, careful not to upset Athena anymore.

"I-I'm fine. I've just never seen this picture before. Even when I used to live here. Not once in my entire life," she reluctantly admitted.

"I see. Do you… want to keep this picture?"

"Can I?" There was a tiny bit of hope in her eyes that only Apollo could spot with his perfect eyesight.

"I don't see why not. You basically owned half of this lab. But if you want, ask Ms Blackquill."

"I will," she claimed as she held the picture under her armpit. Continuing on her scavenger hunt, she opened up a few of the drawers and gasped.

"Thena? What's wrong?" Apollo asked with worry clearly in his voice.

"Nothing, I just found a drawer full of my old drawings and paintings I gave to my mom. I can't believe she actually kept them," she said, as she pulled out one of them. It was a painting of Ponco and Clonco, with Aura and Metis standing in the background, full of joy. Athena smiled as she placed the painting back into the drawer. Before closing it, she pulled out the drawing from her pocket, and placed it on top. "Now it's part of mom's collection," she sighed as she closed the drawer shut.

Apollo smiled and followed her as she walked around the room. She animatedly described what she used to do in here, and what certain psychology machines do. He loved this side of her, so free and full of life.

"You know, I never really knew what psychology was until I went to high school. Then I knew, I had to do it," she revealed.

"Your mom, huh? Guess she had left quite the inspiration on you," he replied.

"Yeah – it felt like she was there with me while I studied it. Encouraging me… guiding me… teaching me… like it was something I was meant to do. And the best part? I enjoyed it. So much."

"Just to let you know, you're doing so well. Keep it up."

"What am I doing well?"

"Making the last reconnection."

"Thanks… but what about you, Apollo?"

"If we go to Launch Pad 1 later, I'll tell you."

"Ooh, 'kay. Let's go check out the robotics lab then we'll head down there!"

They exited the lab, and the doors shut for the last time for Athena. She knew everything she wanted to know, and that was good enough for her.

**(x)**

"Why, the little princ- Athena and Apollo. What brings you here today?"

"Hi, Aura," Athena replied, clearly not really being the same person she was a few seconds ago.

"I'm truly sorry for how I treated you, Athena. I hope that one day, you'll forgive me," Aura apologised.

"I do forgive you. I just haven't been here since…"

"I understand."

Apollo whispered in Athena's ear, "Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?"

"No! We're doing this together, as you said!" she hastily whispered back. "You are not leaving me!"

He chuckled and suddenly remembered that last time _he _was in here. Before he got lost in his memories, he asked Aura, "How have you been?"

"Oh, well you know. Alright. I was let out last month," she stated, with a new tone of relaxation in her voice. She had really changed from last year.

"Where's Clonco?" Athena wondered, looking around the lab. The door burst open and in came a green robot.

"Miss Aura! I have returned!" he told her.

"Very good. Did Cosmos get the message?" she asked.

"Yes! And he was very, very glad!"

"What was the message?" Apollo questioned.

"Oh, it was a message about the HAT-3. I managed to get a message from Starbuck all the way out in space!" she commented.

"Oh that's right! How is the HAT-3 going?" Athena remembered.

"Much better than the others, that's for sure. Okay, it's going really well. They are exploring the moon at the moment."

"That's great!"

"So, if I might ask, what brings you two here today?" Ms Blackquill queried.

"Oh, we wanted to come to the space center one last time. To… make the last reconnection with our pasts," he responded.

"That's good. How are you going so far?"

"Pretty well, thanks," Athena returned.

"If you guys need anything, I'll be happy to help," Aura advised.

"Right!" Athena held out the photo to show Aura. "I was wondering, am I allowed to keep this? I found it in the psych. Lab."

The engineer took in the photo and nodded shyly. "I think Metis would be more than happy for you to keep it. It's a beautiful photo."

"Thanks, Aura," she answered, meaning it.

Apollo let Athena talk to Aura for a few more minutes until she started to walk back around the lab again. "It's changed a lot, from what I remember."

"Yeah, well, Aura does use this lab," I reminded her.

"Thanks, because I TOTALLY knew that," she laughed. It felt good to make her laugh when it could've possibly been a worse situation.

"Well, I think I've had enough in here. Do you want to do anything else before we leave?" Athena said, out-of-the-blue.

"I thought you would've wanted to stay here for longer?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, there's not much I need to remember here. Plus…" she paused, with a sigh, "I've learnt more than enough in the trial last year. I don't need to reconnect too much here… before I start to faint again."

"Okay, so we'll head to Launch Pad 1 then?"

"Yeah."

"I'll let Ponco know, so you guys can enter it," Aura chirped in, tapping away on her touchscreen monitor that controls the robots.

"Thanks so much, Aura," Apollo acknowledged, leaving the robotics lab with Athena trailing behind.

**(x)**

Ponco led them through the corridor to Launch Pad 1. It had been fixed after last year's bombing. It was only partially damaged compared to the pad. That had basically been exploded into bits. Well, technically it was the rocket and the surrounding area. But it was still blown into bits.

Apollo exhaled, and began to tell Athena how they always mucked around in here. "Clay, he always found a way to get in here. Maybe it was because of his connection to Mr Starbuck, but we mostly found ourselves in this launch pad most of the time. Before the HAT-1, we were allowed to go inside the rocket and look around. I remember Clay always had this sparkle in his eye every time we did go inside. It was his passion, to become an astronaut. His childhood dream… kinda like how mine was to become a lawyer."

Just like he had stayed silent for Athena, she did the same. She placed her arm around his shoulders and encouraged him to continue.

"I remember one time, we were like 14. We entered the rocket and Mr Starbuck showed Clay all the controls. He accidentally pressed a button and the rocket was about to take off! Fortunately, Mr Starbuck stopped the countdown before we got blasted off into space. That would've been quite the event, hey? 'Two junior high students were blasted off into space by one button!'" he chuckled, remembering that day 10 years ago.

She laughed with him, and thought how ridiculous that would be. "Do you think you would've even survived?"

"Nah, we didn't even have any astronaut suits! We'll probably die in the first 10 seconds," he reasoned.

"Right…" she rolled her eyes and let Apollo continue.

He took a photo out of his pocket and showed it to Athena. It was of him and Clay, arms around each shoulder, smiling. Apollo sighed happily, then said, "Mr Starbuck snapped this photo. We didn't even know about it. Then, as we were going home, he gave us both a copy and said that we should 'keep it for the future'. It was taken the day Clay told me he was part of the HAT-2, and I came to congratulate him."

"Wow… Mr Starbuck really does care about you two, huh?"

"Yeah… he was like the father I never had, at first. But to Clay… he was his mentor. His guide. I guess my mentor would be Mr Wright now… and maybe the father I never had."

"I get you, Simon was, and is like my big brother. The one who kept me company when no one else could. The one… who'll protect me until the end."

Apollo nodded at her, then placed the photo back into his pocket. "Look, Thena. I think I'm ready to leave. I think we've both left our pasts… to rest, as you put it. I think it was a good idea to come back here, to you know, make the last reconnection? But… how should I say this, I don't want to live in the past anymore. I think it's time just to keep moving forward, and never look back. It happened, and we can't change anything about it. So it's best to just keep going in life. It might've affected us before, but it won't now. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, of course. That's the very reason why I wanted both of us to come back here, one last time. This space center made an impact on our lives, and I wanted to make one last reconnection with it, before moving on," she responded, understanding whole-heartedly.

"I knew you would. You're a lot stronger than people think you are. That's a great quality you have."

She blushed, and together, they wandered out of the Launch Pad, down to the ground floor, and lastly, departed the building. Taking one last glance at her childhood home, her mind drifted off to the future, and she was grateful for the years she did spend here.

He took one last look at the space center, the very place where he spend more than half of his years in junior high in with his best friend. He might not be able to recreate those times, but he can always cherish the memories.

Because even though the people may leave, the memories don't. And that's something everyone shouldn't take for granted.


End file.
